Bulls Eyes
Bulls Eyes is the twenty-first episode of the fourth season. It first aired in the Mr. Conductor's Thomas Tales episode, Missing Whistles in 1996 in the US. Plot Toby's cowcatchers and sideplates are designed to prevent animals from getting hurt if they stray onto the line, but Daisy believes that Toby is simply afraid of getting hurt himself. She tells Toby that any animal, even something as big as a bull, will always run away if she toots her horn and looks them in the eye, despite Toby's insistence that they will not. Later that day, Daisy is asked by a policeman to guide a stray bull back to its farmer. She sets off, eager to prove to Toby that she can handle bulls, despite the fact she has never actually encountered one before. Champion is not really a fierce bull, but this morning, he was cross: he had jumped his fence and slithered down the valley onto the line. Just as he begins to eat the nearby grass, Daisy arrives and toots for him to move. Despite several attempts, Champion ignores her and continues eating. Eventually, he notices Daisy and advances curiously towards her. Daisy becomes unnerved, as the bull is not running away as she expected him to and she is scared that she might get hurt, although she tries to deny this. Champion then sniffs Daisy. This proves to be the last straw, as Daisy retreats back to the station. Toby soon learns about what happened and after reminding Daisy that a bull should always run away according to her, goes to shoo Champion away himself. Although Toby's bell and whistle prove ineffective against the still-grazing bull, he eventually retreats after Toby blows steam at him and reunites with the farmer further down the line. Later that evening, some boys tease Daisy with some "Bulls Eyes" sweets, much to her annoyance. Characters * Toby * Daisy * The Policeman * The Little Boys * James (cameo) * Percy (cameo) * Stephen Hatt (cameo) * Jem Cole (cameo) Locations * Elsbridge * Toryreck * Castlelated Tunnel Trivia * Going by production order, this is the twenty-second episode of the fourth season. * George Carlin's narration was only released on VHS in US and was never released on DVD after VHSs were taken away on 2008. A clip from the episode is only on Sir Topham Hatt's Scrapbook bonus feature on Salty's Secret, New Friends for Thomas, Thomas and the Special Letter, Henry and the Elephant and Engine Friends DVDs. The US narration was later released for digital download on Amazon in 2016. * In the Indian narration, Michael Angelis is credited as the narrator. * This episode is based on the story of the same name from The Railway Series book, Branch Line Engines. * A photograph from this episode was released as a Royal Mail stamp in 2011 to mark the Reverend Awdry's Centenary. * The sweets appear to be black and white beads. * This episode marks the last of a few things for Daisy: ** Her last appearance until Calling All Engines!. ** Her last speaking role until Sodor's Legend of the Lost Treasure ** Her last appearance in an episode until the nineteenth season episode, Thomas the Babysitter. ** Her last speaking role in an episode until the twentieth season episode, Ryan and Daisy. * This marks the first time Toby's whistle is heard. Goofs * After James puffs past Toby with coaches, the camera cuts to Daisy for about five seconds and then cuts back to Toby, but James is nowhere to be seen. * Daisy's left eye is slightly off after she passes the eve crossing. * When the policeman warns Daisy about Champion, the guard does not have a mouth. * When Champion looks around, a small box can be seen at the entrance of the tunnel. * Daisy's eye-mechanism is visible in several shots: ** After the policeman tells Daisy about Champion. ** When Champion sniffs at her. * After Daisy says "Keep your old bull's eyes!" she turns at the points, but in the shot after that, she is turning again. * During the opening scenes at Elsbridge, Daisy has a Co-Bo wheel arrangement (thought to be BoCo's chassis). * When Toby meets Daisy in her shed, her face is falling off. * Daisy has a different horn sound. * When Toby comes out of the tunnel, his eyes are wonky.